BitTorrent - How BitTorrent works

BitTorrent is the name of a client application for the torrent peer-to-peer (P2P) file distribution protocol. created by programmer Bram Cohen. BitTorrent is designed to widely distribute large amounts of data without incurring the corresponding consumption in server and bandwidth resources (and typically, monetary fees attracted as a result of that). The original BitTorrent application is written in Python and its source code has been released under the BitTorrent Open Source License (a modified version of the Jabber Open Sour ...

Including:

• BitTorrent - How BitTorrent works
• BitTorrent - Sharing files
• BitTorrent - Terminology
• BitTorrent - Comparison to other file sharing systems
• BitTorrent - Legal issues
• BitTorrent - Copyright enforcement
• BitTorrent - Legal defenses
• BitTorrent - Legal uses for BitTorrent
• BitTorrent - Etiquette
• BitTorrent - New developments
• BitTorrent - Alternative approaches
• BitTorrent - BitTorrent search / Trackerless
• BitTorrent - Web seeding unofficial feature
• BitTorrent - Broadcatching
• BitTorrent - API
• BitTorrent - BitTorrent-related applications
• BitTorrent - Clients
• BitTorrent - Applications

Read more here: » BitTorrent: Encyclopedia - BitTorrent

BitTorrent, like any other file transfer protocol, can be used to distribute files without the permission of the copyright holder. BitTorrent has become famous for its ability to also share copyrighted files. BitTorrent - Copyright enforcement. There have been many cases of BitTorrent sites distributing illegal content being shut down by organizations. Some of these shutdowns are performed by industry associations, such as the MPAA, and some are performed by government organizations. In December 2004, the Finnish police raided a major BitTorren ...

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BitTorrent, BitTorrent - How BitTorrent works, BitTorrent - Sharing files, BitTorrent - Terminology, BitTorrent - Comparison to other file sharing systems, BitTorrent - Legal issues, BitTorrent - Copyright enforcement, BitTorrent - Legal defenses, BitTorrent - Legal uses for BitTorrent, BitTorrent - Etiquette, BitTorrent - New developments, BitTorrent - Alternative approaches, BitTorrent - BitTorrent search / Trackerless, BitTorrent - Web seeding unofficial feature, BitTorrent - Broadcatching, BitTorrent - API, BitTorrent - BitTorrent-related applications, BitTorrent - Clients, BitTorrent - Applications

Read more here: » BitTorrent: Encyclopedia II - BitTorrent - Legal issues

Because of the open nature of the protocol, many clients have been developed that support numerous platforms and written using various programming languages. BitTorrent - Clients. This is a short list of the most popular BitTorrent clients. A more comprehensive list can be found at List of BitTorrent clients or Comparison of BitTorrent software. Azureus - One of the most popular clients, it is written in Java and features a plugin architecture. BitComet - Written in C++, which ...

See also:

BitTorrent, BitTorrent - How BitTorrent works, BitTorrent - Sharing files, BitTorrent - Terminology, BitTorrent - Comparison to other file sharing systems, BitTorrent - Legal issues, BitTorrent - Copyright enforcement, BitTorrent - Legal defenses, BitTorrent - Legal uses for BitTorrent, BitTorrent - Etiquette, BitTorrent - New developments, BitTorrent - Alternative approaches, BitTorrent - BitTorrent search / Trackerless, BitTorrent - Web seeding unofficial feature, BitTorrent - Broadcatching, BitTorrent - API, BitTorrent - BitTorrent-related applications, BitTorrent - Clients, BitTorrent - Applications

Read more here: » BitTorrent: Encyclopedia II - BitTorrent - BitTorrent-related applications

The BitTorrent protocol is still under development and therefore may still acquire new features and other enhancements such as improved efficiency. In May 2005, on the same day the tracker website elitetorrents.org was shut down, Bram Cohen released a new beta version of BitTorrent that eliminated the need for Web site hosting of centralized servers known as "trackers". It is now possible to have a torrent up in minutes, with a file, a website, and no understanding of how it works. In addition, Cohen launched a new service on BitTorrent's website, which ...

See also:

BitTorrent, BitTorrent - How BitTorrent works, BitTorrent - Sharing files, BitTorrent - Terminology, BitTorrent - Comparison to other file sharing systems, BitTorrent - Legal issues, BitTorrent - Copyright enforcement, BitTorrent - Legal defenses, BitTorrent - Legal uses for BitTorrent, BitTorrent - Etiquette, BitTorrent - New developments, BitTorrent - Alternative approaches, BitTorrent - BitTorrent search / Trackerless, BitTorrent - Web seeding unofficial feature, BitTorrent - Broadcatching, BitTorrent - API, BitTorrent - BitTorrent-related applications, BitTorrent - Clients, BitTorrent - Applications

Read more here: » BitTorrent: Encyclopedia II - BitTorrent - New developments

Because BitTorrent relies on the upstream bandwidth of its users — and the more users, the more aggregate bandwidth is available for sharing the files — it is considered good etiquette to leave one's BitTorrent client open after downloading has completed so that others may continue to gain from the file that has been distributed. It is not clear, however, how long one should leave their client open after downloading has finished. Many clients report the byte traffic upstream as well as down, so the user can see how much they have ...

See also:

BitTorrent, BitTorrent - How BitTorrent works, BitTorrent - Sharing files, BitTorrent - Terminology, BitTorrent - Comparison to other file sharing systems, BitTorrent - Legal issues, BitTorrent - Copyright enforcement, BitTorrent - Legal defenses, BitTorrent - Legal uses for BitTorrent, BitTorrent - Etiquette, BitTorrent - New developments, BitTorrent - Alternative approaches, BitTorrent - BitTorrent search / Trackerless, BitTorrent - Web seeding unofficial feature, BitTorrent - Broadcatching, BitTorrent - API, BitTorrent - BitTorrent-related applications, BitTorrent - Clients, BitTorrent - Applications

Read more here: » BitTorrent: Encyclopedia II - BitTorrent - Etiquette

The method used by BitTorrent to distribute files parallels to a large extent the one used by the eDonkey2000 network, but nodes in eDonkey's file sharing network usually share and download a much larger number of files, making the bandwidth available to each transfer much smaller. BitTorrent transfers are typically very fast, because all nodes in a group concentrate on transferring a single file or collection of files. While the original eDonkey2000 client provided little "leech resistance", most new clients have some sort of system to enco ...

See also:

BitTorrent, BitTorrent - How BitTorrent works, BitTorrent - Sharing files, BitTorrent - Terminology, BitTorrent - Comparison to other file sharing systems, BitTorrent - Legal issues, BitTorrent - Copyright enforcement, BitTorrent - Legal defenses, BitTorrent - Legal uses for BitTorrent, BitTorrent - Etiquette, BitTorrent - New developments, BitTorrent - Alternative approaches, BitTorrent - BitTorrent search / Trackerless, BitTorrent - Web seeding unofficial feature, BitTorrent - Broadcatching, BitTorrent - API, BitTorrent - BitTorrent-related applications, BitTorrent - Clients, BitTorrent - Applications

Read more here: » BitTorrent: Encyclopedia II - BitTorrent - Comparison to other file sharing systems

To share a file using BitTorrent, a user creates a .torrent file, a small "pointer" file that contains: the filename, size, and the hash of each block in the file (which allows users to make sure they are downloading the real thing) the address of a "tracker" server (which is discussed below) and some other data (like client instructions). The torrent file is then distributed to users, often via email or placed on a website. The BitTorrent client is started as a "seed node", allowing ...

See also:

BitTorrent, BitTorrent - How BitTorrent works, BitTorrent - Sharing files, BitTorrent - Terminology, BitTorrent - Comparison to other file sharing systems, BitTorrent - Legal issues, BitTorrent - Copyright enforcement, BitTorrent - Legal defenses, BitTorrent - Legal uses for BitTorrent, BitTorrent - Etiquette, BitTorrent - New developments, BitTorrent - Alternative approaches, BitTorrent - BitTorrent search / Trackerless, BitTorrent - Web seeding unofficial feature, BitTorrent - Broadcatching, BitTorrent - API, BitTorrent - BitTorrent-related applications, BitTorrent - Clients, BitTorrent - Applications

Read more here: » BitTorrent: Encyclopedia II - BitTorrent - Sharing files